TRV
Translation
King James Version
And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
KJV (with Strong's)
And number H4487 thee an army H2428, like the army H2428 that thou hast lost H5307, horse H5483 for horse H5483, and chariot H7393 for chariot H7393: and we will fight H3898 against H854 them in the plain H4334, and surely we shall be stronger H2388 than they. And he hearkened H8085 unto their voice H6963, and did so H6213.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then recruit an army as big as the army you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. We will attack them on level ground, and we will certainly be stronger than they." He heeded what they said and acted accordingly.
Berean Standard Bible
And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.” And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
American Standard Version
and number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
World English Bible Messianic
Muster an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. We will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than them.” He listened to their voice, and did so.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And nomber thy selfe an armie, like the armie that thou hast lost, with such horses, and such charets, and we wil fight against them in the plaine, and doubtlesse we shall ouercome them: and he hearkened vnto their voyce, and did so.
Young's Literal Translation
and thou, number to thee a force as the force that is fallen from thee, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?' and he hearkeneth to their voice, and doth so.
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In the KJVVerse 9,434 of 31,102
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Commentary on 1 Kings 20 verses 22–30
22 ¶ And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
We have here an account of another successful campaign which Ahab, by divine aid, made against the Syrians, in which he gave them a greater defeat than in the former. Strange! Ahab idolatrous and yet victorious, a persecutor and yet a conqueror! God has wise and holy ends in suffering wicked men to prosper, and glorifies his own name thereby.
I. Ahab is admonished by a prophet to prepare for another war, Kg1 20:22. It should seem, he was now secure, and looked but a little way before him. Those that are careless of their souls are often as careless of their outwards affairs; but the prophet (to whom God made known the following counsels of the Syrians) told him they would renew their attempt at the return of the year, hoping to retrieve the honour they had lost and be avenged for the blow they had received. He therefore bade him strengthen himself, put himself into a posture of defence, and be ready to give them a warm reception. God had decreed the end, but Ahab must use the means, else he tempts God: "Help thyself, strengthen thyself, and God will help and strengthen thee." The enemies of God's Israel are restless in their malice, and, though they may take some breathing-time for themselves, yet they are still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the church. It concerns us always to expect assaults from our spiritual enemies, and therefore to mark and see what we do.
II. Ben-hadad is advised by those about him concerning the operations of the next campaign. 1. They advised him to change his ground, Kg1 20:23. They took it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them (so great a regard was then universally had to invisible powers); but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah - that he was many, whereas he is one and his name one, - that he was their God only, a local deity, peculiar to that nation, whereas he is the Creator and ruler of all the world, - and that he was a God of the hills only, because David their great prophet had said, I will lift up my eyes to the hills whence cometh my help (Psa 121:1), and that his foundation was in the holy mountain (Psa 87:1; Psa 78:54), and much was said of his holy hill (Psa 15:1; Psa 24:3); supposing him altogether such a one as their imaginary deities, they fancied he was confined to his hills, and could not or would not come down from them, and therefore an army in the valley would be below his cognizance and from under his protection. Thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concerning God, so wretchedly were their foolish hearts darkened, and, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. 2. They advised him to change his officers (Kg1 20:24, Kg1 20:25), not to employ the kings, who were commanders by birth, but captains rather, who were commanders by merit, who were inured to war, would not affect to make a show like the kings, but would go through with business. Let every man be employed in that which he is brought up to and used to, and preferred to that which he is fit for. Syria, it seems, was rich and populous, when it could furnish recruits sufficient, after so great a defeat, horse for horse, chariot for chariot.
III. Both armies take the field. Ben-hadad, with his Syrians, encamps near Aphek, in the tribe of Asher. It is probable that Asher was a city in his own possession, one of those which his father had won (Kg1 20:34), and the country about it was flat and level, and fit for his purpose, Kg1 20:26. Ahab, with his forces, posted himself at some distance over against them, Kg1 20:27. The disproportion of numbers was very remarkable. The children of Israel, who were cantoned in two battalions, looked like two little flocks of kids, their numbers small, their equipage mean, and the figure they made contemptible; but the Syrians filled the country with their numbers, their noise, their chariots, their carriages, and their baggage.
IV. Ahab is encouraged to fight the Syrians, notwithstanding their advantages and confidence. A man of God is sent to him, to tell him that this numerous army shall all be delivered into his hand (Kg1 20:28), but not for his sake; be it known to him, he is utterly unworthy for whom God will do this. God would not do it because Ahab had praised God or prayed to him (we do not read that he did either), but because the Syrians had blasphemed God, and had said, He is the God of the hills and not of the valleys; therefore God will do it in his own vindication, and to preserve the honour of his own name. If the Syrians had said, "Ahab and his people have forgotten their God, and so put themselves out of his protection, and therefore we may venture to attack them," God would probably have delivered Israel into their hands; but when they go upon a presumption so very injurious to the divine omnipotence, and the honour of him who is Lord of all hosts, not only in hills and valleys, but in heaven and earth, which they are willingly ignorant of, they shall be undeceived, at the expense of that vast army which is so much their pride and confidence.
V. After the armies had faced one another seven days (the Syrians, it is likely, boasting, and the Israelites trembling), they engaged, and the Syrians were totally routed, 100,000 men slain by the sword of Israel in the field of battle (Kg1 20:29), and 27,000 men, that thought themselves safe under the walls of Aphek, a fortified city (from the walls of which the shooters might annoy the enemy if they pursued them, Sa2 11:24), found their bane where they hoped for protection: the wall fell upon them, probably overthrown by an earthquake, and, the cities of Canaan being walled up to heaven, it reached a great way, and they were all killed, or hurt, or overwhelmed with dismay. Ben-hadad, who thought his city Aphek would hold out against the conquerors, finding it thus unwalled, and the remnant of his forces dispirited and dispersed, had nothing but secresy to rely upon for safety, and therefore hid himself in a chamber within a chamber, lest the pursuers should seize him. See how the greatest confidence often ends in the greatest cowardice. "Now is the God of Israel the God of the valleys or no?" He shall know now that he is forced into an inner chamber to hide himself, see Kg1 22:25.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 22–30. Public domain.
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Ephrem the SyrianAD 373
ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 20:1
Here the Scripture relates the two battles of the king of Israel against the Arameans, at which we have already hinted, and the twin slaughters of the Arameans, of which the second caused the death of 127, men, as God took his revenge on the impious voice of the Arameans, who said about the true God worshiped by the Israelites, “The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys.”
Ambrose of MilanAD 397
LETTER 80
Thus the saints go up to the Lord, the wicked go down to sin; the saints are on the mountains, the guilty in the valleys. “For he is the God of the mountains and not the God of the valleys.” Those who dwelt in the houses of the plain where God does not dwell could not have the house of God within them, for this is the house that God sought from them so that they might build up themselves and rear within themselves the temple of God from living stones of faith. He did not want buildings made with earthen walls or wooden roofs, for the hand of an enemy would have been able to overthrow them. He wanted that temple that is built in human hearts, to whom it might be said, “You are the temple of God,” in which the Lord Jesus might dwell and from there set out to redeem all humankind. There also could be prepared a sacred chamber in the womb of the Virgin where the King of heaven might live and a human body become the temple of God, which, though it was destroyed, might yet be restored to life on the third day.
Salvian the PresbyterAD 500
THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7.8
Did not the Lord wish Ben-hadad, king of Syria, whom besides countless thousands of his own people, thirty-two kings and armies of the same number of kings served, to be conquered by a few foot soldiers of the princes in order that he who was the author of such victory would be acknowledged?
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Following a devastating defeat by Israel, King Ben-hadad's advisors propose a strategic pivot: to meticulously rebuild their army, ensuring full strength in cavalry and chariots, and to engage Israel on the flat "plain." Their rationale, rooted in a profound theological miscalculation, was that Israel's God was merely a "God of the hills," implying a geographical limitation to His power. Ben-hadad, embracing this human-centric logic and refusing to acknowledge divine intervention, readily accepted their counsel, setting the stage for a second, equally decisive confrontation that would further expose his hubris and God's boundless sovereignty.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The passage is rich with Irony, as the very strategy meticulously crafted to ensure Syrian victory—fighting on the open plain where they confidently declare they "surely shall be stronger"—becomes the setting for an even more humiliating and decisive defeat. This ironic outcome powerfully exposes the Syrians' theological and military miscalculation. There is clear Foreshadowing of God's subsequent intervention and declaration, as the Syrians' limited view of God as merely a "God of the hills" directly sets up the divine refutation in 1 Kings 20:28, where God explicitly states He is God of both the hills and the plains. This also creates a striking Contrast between human wisdom and divine omnipotence; the Syrians' sophisticated military strategy, based on a faulty understanding of God's nature, stands in stark opposition to the Lord's boundless power and absolute sovereignty over all creation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse, though spoken by the enemies of God, serves as a profound theological statement. It encapsulates the persistent human tendency to limit God, to confine His boundless power to specific circumstances, places, or methods, rather than acknowledging His absolute sovereignty over all creation. The Syrian advisors' reasoning is a classic example of human pride attempting to rationalize divine action through worldly lenses, believing that a change in physical environment can circumvent spiritual realities. This sets the stage for God to emphatically demonstrate that His power is not geographically bound or limited by human strategy, but extends universally, challenging any notion that He is merely a tribal deity or a "god of the hills." God's subsequent actions prove His dominion over all terrains and all human endeavors.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The narrative of Ben-hadad and his advisors serves as a timeless and potent warning against the perils of human arrogance and a limited understanding of God's nature. Like the Syrians, we are often prone to rationalizing away God's hand in our lives, attributing outcomes to chance, circumstance, or our own cleverness, rather than acknowledging His sovereign and pervasive control. This passage compels us to deeply examine our own perspectives: Do we subtly limit God to certain areas of our lives—perhaps only in times of crisis, or exclusively within "spiritual" matters, but not in our finances, careers, relationships, or daily routines? Do we devise our own elaborate strategies, convinced of our inherent strength and wisdom, without genuinely seeking or submitting to divine guidance? True wisdom and enduring strength emerge from recognizing that God is not confined by our limitations, our meticulously crafted plans, or our perceived "plains" or "hills." He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and sovereign over every facet of existence. Our call is to humble ourselves, acknowledge His boundless power, and trust implicitly in His guidance, knowing that His ways are infinitely higher and more effective than our own.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Ben-hadad so readily accept his advisors' flawed counsel?
Answer: Ben-hadad's ready acceptance of his advisors' flawed counsel stemmed from a confluence of factors typical of proud, ancient rulers. Firstly, he was desperate to salvage his honor and military prestige after a humiliating defeat, and the advisors' plan offered a seemingly logical, actionable, and face-saving path forward that conveniently avoided the uncomfortable truth of divine intervention. Secondly, his polytheistic worldview made the idea of a geographically limited deity plausible; it provided a convenient rationalization for his loss without requiring him to acknowledge the overwhelming power of Israel's God. Thirdly, the plan appealed directly to his reliance on conventional military might, promising victory through superior numbers and strategic terrain, which aligned perfectly with his prior experience and understanding of warfare. His pride and human-centric perspective prevented him from seeing beyond the immediate, physical realities to the spiritual truth of God's absolute and universal sovereignty, a truth God would emphatically demonstrate in the subsequent battle on the plain, as declared in 1 Kings 20:28.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The Syrian advisors' futile attempt to confine God to the "hills" and outmaneuver Him on the "plain" profoundly foreshadows humanity's persistent efforts to limit God's power and control destiny apart from His will. Yet, the New Testament reveals that God's absolute sovereignty is fully embodied in Jesus Christ, who is not bound by any earthly limitation, geographical constraint, or human strategy. Just as God demonstrated His power on both hills and plains in 1 Kings 20, Christ's authority extends over all creation—He calmed raging storms on the sea (Mark 4:39), taught profound truths on mountainsides (Matthew 5:1), and healed the sick and cast out demons in every village and city (Matthew 9:35). His ultimate victory on the cross, though appearing as a defeat to human eyes and taking place on a "hill" (Golgotha), was the decisive triumph over sin, death, and all spiritual powers, demonstrating God's power in the most unexpected "plain" of human weakness and suffering (1 Corinthians 1:25). Through Christ, we learn that God's power and presence are not contingent on our circumstances or strategies, but are absolute and all-encompassing, ensuring His ultimate victory and our salvation in every "plain" and "hill" of our lives and throughout eternity.